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The Phantom (Julian Sands)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Storyline The movie begins with The Phantom's mother abandoning him by throwing his basket into a river leading to the sewers. He is found by a colony of rats living beneath the Opera House and is raised by them. He comes to believe that he is a rat and goes to great lengths to protect them. Even setting traps and murdering those that venture into his sub-terrain world. The movie moves forward to 1877. Several workers are checking a tunnel when they discover one of The Phantom's traps and the The Phantom gruesomely murders them. A young ingenue named Christine Daaé on the empty stage after a performance. Christine sings to the empty auditorium, dreaming of a day when she could be the opera's diva. Unbeknownst to her, The Phantom watches her from the shadows. Christine's maid Honorine comes to fetch her for a costume fitting and Christine dismisses her; telling her she will be there in a moment. Christine takes her bows before her imaginary audience before leaving the stage alone. As she makes her way through the Opera House, Christine meets the phantom. Telepathically he communicates with her expressing an interest in her and also inquiring as to who she is. The rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet are underway with Carlotta as Juliet. As Christine watches the rehearsals she speaks with The Phantom telepathically and arranges to meet with him the wings. Christine meets the phantom amongst the disused props in the wings. He proceeds to sniff her; intoxicated by her "female smell". He makes her promises and professes his love for her before abruptly leaving. Stage hand and Laundress Alfred and Paulette makes their way done to The Phantom's underground passages intent on stealing treasure. The Phantom stabs and impales Alfred before ripping out Paulette's tongue. At night The Phantom sits upon the rooftop at night, smelling Christine's scarf and gazing into the stars. He first sees his Rat family (shown as naked humans with rodent masks) in a blazing giant mouse trap and then a vision of Christine; nude in fishnet aglow with heavenly light. Carlotta develops a sore throat and Christine must take her place. As she rehearses the piece, she gazes frantically between The Phantom in the shadows and Raoul in the stalls. The strain becomes too much for her and she collapses and has to be revived with smelling salts in her dressing room. The Phantom visits Christine when she wakes but promptly disappears. In the cellars of the Opera, Pourdieu as forcibly taken one of the young ballerinas and is trying to bribe her with chocolates for nefarious reasons. She escapes and encounters The Phantom who spares her life but stabs Pourdieu. When he hears Christine confessing her love for both Raoul and himself, he beckons her to the mirror. He plays his organ and lets the music lead her through the passageways to his lair. When she arrives he demands that she sing to accompany his playing before they go to bed together. Post coitus they embrace as The Phantom reveals his abandonment and slips his ring onto Christine's finger. The night morning, he is awoken to find Christine playing the organ. He tells her that she will sing the role of Juliet that night at the Opera. She tells him that she doesn't want to before they argue viciously and the Phantom sails away leaving her abandoned in the house by the lake. Carlotta prepares as Poligny tells her that her debut performance has a fullhouse. Carlotta is not surprised given her talent and renown. As she talks about her new contract she sends Marc to the wardrobe room to fetch her costume. The Phantom throws his voice insulting Carlotta who in turn thinks it was Poligny. She orders him to leave despite his protests before hearing Marc whimpering. The Phantom then dispatches Marc. She goes into the wardrobe room to investigate when the Phantom pins her to the wall. He bites her earlobe and informs her that she will not sing as Juliet that night before he exposes her breast and claws it. Carlotta faints momentarily before dragging herself back to her dressing room. Despite her disheveled appearance she is determined to sing the role. As the curtain rises, the Phantom's note is discovered threatening a disaster if Carlotta sings. As the Opera progresses, The Phantom toplessly cuts down the Chandelier causing countless gruesome deaths in the audience. A prop also becomes dislodged and falls on top of Carlotta's head. While unharmed, the powder renders her unable to sing. Despite Christine's absence, Raoul still attends the opera and witnesses the Chandelier fall. As he escapes he sees Honorine and asks her where is Christine. Initially Honorine taunts him that she may have another lover but then takes pity on him and leads him to Christine's dressing room. Christine patiently waits for The Phantom's return knowing that he has done something horrible to get her the role of Juliet. When he does return their fighting continues resulting in the Phantom raping her. The Rat Catcher also witnesses this through a crack in the wall. The next morning Christine awakes and finds The Phantom lounging on a couch covered in rats. He seems to be aroused by the rats running across his bare chest and down his trousers. After witnessing this; Christine flees the lair. Discovering that Christine is gone, The Phantom sniffs her shoes. Christine longs to be away from the Phantom and takes Raoul up onto the rooftop. The Phantom watches this scene tearful and hidden from sight. The following evening, Christine takes to the stage as Juliet. Her performance is interrupted however by the injured Rat Catcher limping onto the stage and calling Christine; "The Phantom's whore!". This prompts The Phantom to fly onto the stage and abduct the fainting Christine. Raoul sees this and follows in an effort to save Christine.When Christine awakes underground she hits the Phantom on the temple with a stone but immediately begs forgiveness. The Phantom leads her away as they hear the approaching mob. Raoul is the first to discover them and shoots The Phantom with a rifle found in the cellars. Christine weeps to see The Phantom injured but the phantom implores Raoul to take Christine away so that she is safe from the mob. Christine beseeches Raoul to return to shore for the Phantom as the mob surround him. The Phantom is shot by a solider who he manages to overpower, he is shot a third time before he is stabbed by The crazed Rat Catcher. He pulls out the blade and proceeds to stab The Rat Catcher to death before limping towards the water's edge. He raises his arms, calls out Christine's name and is stabbed fatally. The Phantom falls into the water: dead. The rats morn his loss and Christine is inconsolable and does not notice that the Phantom's ring slips from her finger into the water fading to the end credits. Deformity In this version the Phantom has no physical deformity rather he is psychologically scarred. The first version to toy with this idea was one of the early drafts of the Claude Rains The Phantom of the Opera. Whereby a musician turn soldier was returning from the war but this idea was scrapped out of respect for war veterans.As a result, This is the only film Phantom without a deformity. The Phantom's lack of deformity maybe on a practical level (such as Sands not wanting heavy make-up or to be type cast as a horror actor) or may have been a directorial choice. The plot focuses on the Phantom's estrangement from humanity and adopting the identity and mannerisms of a rat. Perhaps adding a deformity may have been seen as unnecessary given the importance psychologically damaged he was. Portrayal Despite the outlandish script and plot points, Sands brings a well spoken elegance to an otherwise ridiculous and bland Phantom. Relationships Christine: ''The two share an intimate connection as The Phantom speaks with her telepathically and meets her in person several times. Almost anytime they do meet, they embrace in someway. Unlike other versions, The Phantom in no way gives Christine singing lessons although he still is moved by her voice and wants her career to progress. Their relationship develops over a year before Christine confesses that she loves him and travels to his lair underground. In this version, Christine and the Phantom consummate their relationship. This is the only onscreen coupling of The Phantom and Christine to date. They constantly profess their love for each other and yet do argue viciously with one and other and even attack each other. Christine thinks of the phantom as a dark part of her own personality and that explains why she is inexplicably drawn towards him. When he is injured and dies, Christine is inconsolable meaning there must be some real feeling towards the Phantom. ''Raoul de Chagny : The Phantom is largely indifferent to Raoul and doesn't threaten or provoke him in any way until after The Phantom abducts Christine. In the caves under the Opera House, He challenges Raoul to fight and is shot by him. Wounded, The Phantom asked Raoul to help him and to get Christine to safety and goes with them to the shore of the lake. Carlotta: The Phantom dislikes Carlotta and this is most likely due to her rivalry and treatment of Christine. He murders her assistant before molesting, assaulting and threatening Carlotta. During the chandelier crash, Carlotta is injured by a set piece though it is unknown if The Phantom planned this or if it was by accident. Ignace (The Rat Catcher): Ignace is the Phantom's oldest enemy as he is the Opera House's rat catcher and responsible for the deaths of his rodent family and friends. It is implied that The Phantom has telekinesis and was responsible for forcing Ignace's hand into the trap. When Ignace publicly denounces Christine on stage and leads a mob into the cellars of the Opera their hatred towards one another comes to a head. Ignace stabs the Injured Phantom before the Phantom stabs him to death. The Rats: The rats adopt the Phantom as an infant and raise him. They forge a bond and he believes that he is a rat. In the infamous rat scene, The Phantom is seen writhing in pleasure covered in rats which implies he may be aroused by rats. When the Phantom dies, the rats appear to cry for him. Trivia Media Gallery Category:Phantoms Category:Male Characters Category:Deceased characters Category:Argento characters